The Shade of the Moon (11 page)

But all Luke did was stand by Sarah’s side and ask if he could join her. Jon and his
teammates watched in silence as Luke sat at Sarah’s table and began talking with her.

“He’s crazy,” Tyler said. “Come on, guys. We’ve got soccer practice in a few minutes.
Coach’ll whip him back in shape.”

Jon longed to join Sarah and Luke, but he didn’t dare. When Lisa passes her evaluation,
he promised himself. Then he’d be as brave as Luke.

Friday, June 5

When Jon arrived at Sarah’s house after breakfast, he saw her standing on the front
porch.

“Go away,” she said.

“Sarah, I’m sorry,” Jon said.

“I don’t care if you’re sorry,” she said. “And I don’t need to hear your excuses.”

“It isn’t an excuse,” Jon said. “Lisa hasn’t heard about the evaluation yet. I can’t
do anything that might hurt her chances.”

Sarah shook her head. “Today it’s the evaluation,” she said. “Next week it’ll be because
you’re a slip. You always have that one to fall back on, don’t you, Jon?”

“I am a slip,” Jon said. “You have no idea what that’s like.”

“It’s an excuse, Jon,” Sarah said. “You’re a coward, just like you told me. When you
didn’t visit Julie, that wasn’t because you were a slip or Lisa had an evaluation.
It was because deep down inside you’re scared. You’re weak and cowardly, and I don’t
want to see you ever again.”

“Sarah,” Jon pleaded.

“Go away,” she said. “And don’t ever come back. I’ll call for a guard, Jon, if you
don’t leave right now. I’m not kidding.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again, but he began walking away. He turned back once and saw
Sarah standing there absolutely still.

Julie wasn’t the only one who understood him, he thought. Sarah had known him for
a month, and she knew him every bit as well, and now hated him just as much.

Tuesday, June 9

Jon had never seen Lisa look so happy, so excited.

“You passed your evaluation,” he said.

Lisa raced over and hugged him. “I passed!” she cried. “We’re safe for another three
years.”

“That’s great, Lisa,” Jon said. “You deserve it.”

“Oh, Jon, it’s even better than that,” she said. “Sit down. No, I’ll sit down. No,
I’m too excited to sit down.”

Jon laughed. “We’ll both sit down,” he said. “Tell me what happened. How did you find
out?”

“They called me in,” Lisa said. “I can’t wait to tell Gabe. I know he won’t understand,
but I want to tell him anyway. Jon, I didn’t just pass. I got a promotion!”

“You’re kidding,” Jon said. “Lisa, that’s amazing.”

“I’m now head of domestic placements,” she said. “My boss got transferred. I can’t
believe they hired me. I thought for sure they’d hire someone’s sister or cousin.
I thought they’d hire the relative and I’d be struck having to train some idiot, or
worse still, they’d say no to my evaluation to justify not giving me the job. It doesn’t
matter. Maybe no relative wanted the job. Either way, I got it.”

“What are the benefits?” Jon asked.

“They offered me a choice,” Lisa replied. “I could have a bigger house, better neighborhood,
but I love this neighborhood, so why should I want to move? And we don’t need a bigger
house. So I decided against that right away. Instead we’re getting a personal greenhouse.
Jon, we’ll be able to grow our own fruits and vegetables. Herbs. Do you know how much
I’ve missed fresh herbs?”

“That’s great,” Jon said.

Lisa laughed. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to work in it,” she said, but then she
lowered her voice. “Whichever I chose, I’d be getting a third domestic. I had this
amazing idea, Jon. I’m going to arrange it so that Miranda gets the job.”

“Miranda?” Jon said.

“Quiet,” Lisa said. “Val might hear you.”

“I’m sorry,” Jon whispered. “But Miranda working here?”

“It makes a lot of sense, Jon,” Lisa replied. “The baby could share the nursery with
Gabe. Carrie can look after both of them while Miranda works in the greenhouse.”

“What about Alex?” Jon asked, still trying to understand how it would work.

“He’d keep the apartment, I guess,” Lisa said. “Miranda and the baby can take the
bus Saturday nights with Val and Carrie. But Miranda wouldn’t have to work nearly
so hard, and she wouldn’t have the commute, and she’d be able to look in on her baby
at mealtimes. She’ll eat better here, and the air would be better for the baby. You
can see all that, can’t you, Jon?”

Jon remembered what Alex had said about Gabe being better off in Sexton than with
his mother. This wasn’t exactly the same. Miranda would still be a grub, and her baby
would be a grub’s baby, not a claver’s. But Lisa would treat them well, and things
would be easier for them.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about having his sister being a domestic where he lived.
It felt weird, wrong. But if Miranda was in the greenhouse and he was at school or
at practice, he’d hardly see her anyway.

“Where would she sleep?” he asked. “Is there room for her?”

“We’ll convert the garage,” Lisa said. “It’s wired for electricity. We’ll put a heater
in and a bed, some furniture, a lamp. A crib, of course. It’ll be nice and cozy for
both of them.”

The garage had been his place, his and Sarah’s. And now that Lisa had passed her evaluation,
there was nothing to keep him from getting Sarah back. She needed him as much as he
needed her. He’d make her forgive him.

“How about if I move into the garage?” he asked. “Miranda could have my room.”

Lisa shook her head. “That’s sweet, Jon, but it wouldn’t work. No one can know that
she’s family, or we’ll all get in trouble. Besides, in a year you’ll pass your evaluation
and move into the Sexton dorm. Carrie will get transferred, and Gabe will move into
your room. Miranda and her baby can have the nursery then.”

“Have you talked to Miranda?” Jon asked.

Lisa shook her head. “I’ll go there on Sunday and talk to all of them,” she said.
“Laura’s going to be the hardest one to convince. She’s so possessive of Miranda.
But I’ll talk her into it. It’s what’s best for Miranda and the baby. Laura will see
that.”

Good news, weird news, Jon thought. My sister the grub.

But Lisa was right. In a year, he’d either be in the Sexton dorm or thrown out of
Sexton. And in a year Alex might have his truck. Or he and Miranda might decide to
move to that place Matt had told them about. Or the moon might crash into the earth
and they’d all be dead anyway.

“Congratulations,” he said to Lisa. “Now go tell Gabe the good news.”

Wednesday, June 10

Jon walked over to the table where Luke and Sarah were sitting. “Lisa passed her evaluation,”
he said to Luke, pretending not to notice that Sarah was there. “She even got a promotion.”

“That must be a relief,” Luke said. “I know you’ve been worrying about it.”

Jon nodded. “She’s feeling a lot better about things,” he said. “I am, too.”

Sarah kept still.

“That’s it,” Jon said. “Just thought you’d want to know.”

But as he walked back to Tyler’s table, he could sense Sarah looking at him.

Things are about to get better, he told himself. He’d learned from his lessons. He’d
be the man Sarah wanted him to be and then she would have to forgive him.

Friday, June 12

Luke lived almost a mile away, but there was no bus that went through the neighborhoods,
so Jon walked there. He’d been to Luke’s a few times but never without an invitation.
He didn’t think Luke would mind, though.

He didn’t mind, but he was surprised. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “Is something
the matter?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” Jon said. “I figured this was the best place.”

“Come on in,” Luke said. “We’ll go to my room.”

Jon thought about the offer Lisa had had for a bigger house. Luke’s felt like a mansion.
His brother lived in the Sexton dorm, so it was just Luke, his parents, and five domestics.
Jon wondered how many of them were professors of philosophy.

“Okay,” Luke said. “What’s up?”

“Could you close the door?” Jon asked. “I need to talk to you in private.”

Luke shrugged, but he closed the door, then sat down on a chair that faced Jon’s.

Jon took a deep breath. “I can’t stop thinking about the grubber school,” he said.
“How we burned it down. Now that my stepmother’s passed her evaluation, well, I could
go to the authorities, tell them what happened. But I decided to talk to you first.”

Luke got up and opened the door. “Marie!” he called. “Could you get my father for
me? Ask him to come to my room.”

“Yes, Mr. Luke,” Marie said.

“What did you do that for?” Jon asked.

“Wait,” Luke said. “We’ll talk it over with my father.”

Jon felt a sharp longing for a father of his own to talk things over with. Not that
he hadn’t keep secrets from Dad. But maybe if he were still alive, Jon wouldn’t have
made such a mess of things.

He and Luke sat in uncomfortable silence until Dr. Barner arrived. Jon rose, and Dr.
Barner smiled and shook his hand. “This is a nice surprise,” he said. “Are you joining
us for supper, Jon?”

“Oh no,” Jon said. “No, thank you. I came here to talk something over with Luke.”

“Jon wants to go to the authorities,” Luke said to his father. “To tell them about
setting the school on fire.”

“He knows?” Jon said.

“I know,” Dr. Barner replied. “Luke told me after church on the eighteenth. He and
I talked about it at great length.”

“I asked Dad if I should go to the authorities,” Luke said.

“I told him he should,” Dr. Barner said. “But only if all five of you agreed. I’ll
tell you the same thing, Jon. Either all of you go or none of you goes.”

“Dad said I’d have to tell them who was there with me,” Luke said. “I couldn’t lie
and say I did it by myself. I’d never get away with it. They’d ask questions, like
where did I get the matches. And there’s no way I’d rat on my friends.”

“I’m not saying what you did was right, Jon,” Dr. Barner said. “But Luke was protecting
the old man. The grubs who trashed the school before you got there had no such reason.
They were simply drunken vandals.”

There was no way of knowing who had trashed the school. Everyone was drunk that night,
clavers as well as grubs. “The school was a mess,” Jon said. “But it could have been
cleaned up. What we did was irreversible.”

“Exactly,” Dr. Barner replied. “There’s nothing you can say or do that will change
matters. So why throw your life away? I’ll say to you what I said to Luke. The important
thing is to accept what you did was wrong and move on. I had him promise never to
do anything like that again. I think you’ll feel better if you make that same promise.”

“I promise,” Jon said, waiting to feel better.

“Very good,” Dr. Barner said. “You’re sure you don’t want to stay for dinner, Jon?
There’s always room for one more.”

“No, thank you,” Jon said. “Lisa’s expecting me. And Gabe’ll be disappointed if I’m
not there.”

“Some other time, then,” Dr. Barner said. “Come, Luke. We don’t want to keep your
mother waiting.”

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Luke replied. “I’ll see Jon out.”

“Don’t take too long,” Dr. Barner said. “You don’t want your dinner to get cold.”

“I won’t,” Luke said. “Come on, Jon.”

Jon followed Luke down the stairs and outside. “I didn’t want to say this in front
of Dad,” Luke said softly. “But I talked to Tyler yesterday. I’ve wanted to for a
while, and when you said Lisa had passed, I figured the time was right.”

“What did he say?” Jon asked, knowing he wasn’t going to like the answer.

“He said his father thinks the grubs burned the school down,” Luke replied. “And Tyler
wants to keep it that way. Tyler can’t go after me. We’re family. But he said if either
one of us talks, he’ll see to it you’re sent to the mines. That family of yours in
White Birch? They’ll end up there, too, like those grubber women who complained about
Zach’s grandfather. Everyone knew they were telling the truth. That’s why he got thrown
out of Sexton. But the grubs were sent to the mines anyway.”

Jon thought of Alex and Miranda and their baby. He had no right to destroy their lives.
“I’ll keep quiet,” he said. “I swear it.”

“There’s something else,” Luke said. “Sarah.”

“What about her?” Jon asked.

“Look, I know about the two of you,” Luke declared. “Sarah talks to me.”

“I thought now that Lisa’s okay, I’d try to make it up to Sarah,” Jon said.

“That’s what she wants,” Luke replied. “But you can’t let that happen. Tyler asked
me if anything was going on between the two of you. I said no, but I don’t think he
believed me. He’ll hurt her, Jon, just to show you he’s in charge.”

“But she wants to get back together?” Jon asked.

“She says she loves you,” Luke replied. “If you love her, you’ll leave her alone.”